Hay unloader with extended side wall base and reciprocable bottom forming member



P. ARVIDSON WITH EXTENDED SIDE WALL BASE G MEMBER Dec. 16, 1947.

HAY UNLOADER AND RECIPROCABLE BOTTOM FORM IN Filed Jan. 50, 1945 FIG. 2.

H, R N M mm w I S 4 W M? L w P B 1 a E w r Ip z b z Patented Dec. 16, 1947 HAY UN LOADER WITH EXTENDED SIDE WALL BASE AND RECIPROCABLE BOT- TOM FORMING MEMBER Paul Arvidson, Needles, Calif. Application January 30, 1943, Serial No. 474,219

2 Claims. (01. 222- 199) This invention relates to vehicular hay distributors or spreaders, and the prime object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for mounting upon a wagon or truck in lieu of the usual hay rack, and whereby cured hay may be conveniently spread or distributed out over a stock range for the feeding of cattle, horses or other stock.

Another object is to provide, in an apparatus of the kind described, an elongated, laterally inclosed receptacle or hay box, open at top and having a feed opening out through the rear end near the bottom of the box, a feed or hay carrier reciprocably mounted on the bottom of the box and formed with a plurality of elongated, transverse feed bars mounted on its upper side, said bars being acute-angled in cross-section, with their upstanding apices turned rearwardly towards said feed opening, with means for reciprocating the feed carrier for feeding the hay little by little rearwardly and out through the opening, as the vehicle is moved along over the field or range.

With the stated objects in view, attention is directed to the drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the assembly constituting the invention, a frontal floor section being broken out to show the mounting of the driving elements.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section.

Figure 3 is a detail view in reduced plan, showing a slightly modified form of the invention.

The apparatus is designed for mounting upon any suitable wagon or truck chassis (not shown), in lieu of the conventional hay rack, and comprises a base frame 5 of conventional structure and including side sills 6 properly spaced apart side by side and rigidly joined by cross sills l. The base frame 5 so constructed is inclosed laterally by side boards 8 and at the ends by end boards or closures 9, all of the required and equal height for holding a substantial amount of hay. The rear end board or closure, however, is raised at its lower margin and is spaced from the base frame 5, so as to provide a feed opening or port I'll at this rear end. Apron boards II are anchored at their outer margins to the upper margins of the end boards 9, as indicated at f2, and are extended slopingly inward and downward towards the base frame 5, thus leaving an intervening opening [3 through which hay may fall.

A reciprocable feed or hay carrier I4 is freely laid upon rollers I5 extended transversely in spaced relation from end to end of the base frame, with their ends bearing on the side sills 6, where they are confined in run-ways l6 permitting a limited reciprocable movement to said rollers and carrier. The rear end of the carrier projects out through the opening ID, as shown. Thus the carrier I4 is reciprocably positioned immediately below the medial opening l3 as formed by the downwardly and inwardly converged aprons II, and it is to be noted that these aprons are sufliciently raised above the carrier to provide clearance spaces below the aprons. Also it is to be noted that the downward and inward sloping of the aprons ll provide angular chambers between the aprons and the ends 9 of the structure, as clearly shown in Figure 2 of the drawing. The frontal clearance space or chamber thus provided serves to accommodate the forward end of the reciprocating carrier l4 and protects this end of the carrier from clogging up with hay. On the other hand the rear chamber or clearance space provides room for the hay in passing out rearwardly over the carrier to accumulate therein to some extent for mixing and thence to pass out through the feed port I 0 onto the protruded outer end of the carrier, whence it is scattered endwise and laterally over the ground for the use of the stock.

The carrier I'd is formed of a plurality of boards I! arranged side by side in spaced relation as shown, and these boards are anchored together to move as a unit by means of a plu rality of feed bars l8 arranged transversely on the upper sides of the boards H and securely nailed or otherwise fastened thereto. The bars l8 are mounted in spaced relation from end to end of the boards l1, and are formed acutely angular in cross-section as shown, with their upstanding apices directed rearwardly towards the feed opening l0. Thus it is evident that with hay falling upon the carrier l4, and the latter in reciprocating motion, the hay will be gradually pushed and fed back by the bars I 8, and forced out through the opening Ill. A further advantage of the inwardly and downwardly sloping rear apron II, is that as the hay passes rearwardly thereunder the sloping lower end of this apron catches a portion of the hay and rolls it back inwardly up the apron while the balance of the hay passes under the apron and out through the feed port [0. Thus the hay becomes thoroughly broken up and mixed as it is worked out through the feed port.

Reciprocal motion is imparted to the carrier 14 by means of a crank shaft I 9 journaled at its ends in the base frame 5, as indicated at 20' and beneath the carrier M. A crank arm 21' has one end engaging by a loop 22 of said crank shaft, and the other end is hinged at 23 to the under side of the carrier M. A worm gear 24 is rigidly mounted on the inner end of the crank shaft l9, and the worm 25 of a worm-shaft 26 is placed in mesh with the gear 24, the said worm shaft being journaled at its ends in bearings 21 supported from the base frame 5 below the carmen The worm-shaft 26 is driven by an engine or motor 28, to the shaft 29 of which the worm shaft is operatively and releasably associated through a conventional clutch mechanism 30. The engine is supported in a hod 3! mounted at the front of the base frame.

In use the apparatus is mounted on any suitable truck or truck or wagon chassis, as above stated, for travel over the field or range wherein the stock to be fed are located. Hay is then loaded onto and into the top of the apparatus, where it falls upon the aprons II and thence down upon the feed carrier 14. The engine then being energized, and the clutch let in, the wormshaft in turn operates the crank-shaft and reciprocates the carrier, thus feeding the hayout slowly through the feed port as stated, and distributing same evenly over the field for the stock, as the vehicle moves along.

The apparatus -thus relieves the operator of the duty of forking out hay, while at the same time driving his vehicle.

In Figure 3 is shown a slightly modified form of the invention, wherein the hay carrier 14 of the previously described structure instead of being made unitary, the said carrier is made in two longitudinally divided parts I la, [41), each carrying its separate feed bars I841, lab, and the crank shaft IQ of the previous structure designated as I9a in this figure being formed with two oppositely turned cranks as shown, with crank arms 2la, 2lb hinged at 23a, 23b to the two parts or sections 14a, Mb. This arrangement imparts opposite reciprocable movement to the sections I la, Mb. Otherwise the operation of the apparatus is the same as already described.

While I have here shown and described a specific apparatus for the purpose described, the structural features thereof may be changed or modified, within the scope of the claims,

I claim:

1 In an apparatus of, the kind described ineluding a base frame with spaced side sills and transverse end sills at the ends of the side sills, and including a hay carrier reciprocally mounted upon the base frame for longitudinal movement thereon, means for reciprocating the hay carrier, same comprising a crank shaft journaled forwardly across the frame underneath the hay carrier, a crank arm journaled at its outer end onto the crank of the crank shaft, and hinged at its inner end to the under side of the carrier, a worm gear on the crank shaft and a worm shaft journaled in the frame below the hay carrier perpendicularly to the crank shaft and in operative alignment with the worm gear of the crank shaft and with the worm in mesh with said worm gear, and mean for rotating the worm shaft for reciprocating the hay carrier.

2. In an apparatus of the kind described and wherein is embodied a base frame and side and end closures erected upon the frame, the rear end closure being raised to provide a feed port thereat, and including a hay or feed carrier reciprocably mounted upon the base frame within the side and end closures thereof and arranged to feed hay or the like out rearwardly through said feed port, a pair of downwardly and inwardly inclined aprons supported at their upper margins from the upper margins of the end 010- sures of the structure, with a central clearance between their lower and inner ends, the said aprons thus serving both to direct the hay centrally to the said carrier and to provide chambers at the ends of the structure for facilitating the working of the apparatus.

PAUL ARVIDSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 21,780 Simmons Oct. 12, 1858 146,251 Hardwick Jan. 6, 1874 327,011 Norton, Sr. Sept. 29, 1885 330,880 Faulkner Nov. 24, 1885 615,748 Richner Dec. 13, 1898 1,013,546 Gibeau et a1. Jan. 2, 1912 1,880,287 Sifton Oct. 4, 1932 2,278,730 Neuman Apr. 7, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 17,234 Austria Apr. 20, 1934 518,566 Germany Feb. 18, 1931 

